Almost everyone has a ‘smart phone’ these days, just chock full of apps and bots. Did you know the definition of a ‘bot’ before tech took over? A bot is the larva of the botfly, which is an internal parasite of animals. Are your smart phone and smart appliance bots internal parasites too? Are they feeding off you, passing information to unknown sources? How can you tell?

We see them in magazines, in the movies and in Wired Magazine. The Robots are coming and with them replacing the drudgery of manual, repetitious labor, more traditional jobs will be lost. But that can be a good thing if not a Great Thing! It is inevitable that this will happen. People are basically lazy. I mean who really loves digging ditches, doing repetitive mind numbing boring jobs? So many people, literally, Hate Their Jobs now, so won't it be a relief to replace these boring, mostly lousy paying, jobs with robots or other automatons?

Computer games have been around, well, since the beginning of computers. Even in the early 1960's mainframe days (yes I AM that old!) there were simple computer games, digital/printer art and even digital music. There were people who somehow figured out how to make a 'chain printer' play tunes and print out graphic pictures. Pretty amazing given the technology of the day.

There seem to be more and more companies talking about Employee Health & Wellness programs these days. There are many studies that have shown that these educational programs help decrease obesity, high cholesterol and therefore heart disease, diabetes 2 and more in employee populations. Furthermore, there is evidence of better job performance, fewer sick days and better overall productivity from those employees adhering to a program of better dietary lifestyle with a modest increase in exercise.

America can not grow on a foundation of social scientists and accountants. We must encourage the growth of Science and Industry that made America Great. In order to DO that, businesses must refocus on Real Growth and development, training the new generations inventors and builders.

Frankly I'm terrified from what I see. No, it's not any single event but a trend that has been happening for decades. Since I've managed to pack many years into my life, I can see the trend that many younger folks may not see. It is not just a single trend but a thread of events all intertwined into a rope that I fear will hang us all.

Most of the Civilized World is run and controlled by digital devices; computers. They are imbedded in just about every electrical device. The intent is better control and utilization and we have arrived at an era of pervasive computing. From the toaster to the networked television, everything is, or will be, digital.

The business world has been changing and will continue to change more dramatically as the new Health Care Laws kick into effect in 2013 and beyond. How will this and pending tax increases and more big government regulations impact business?

I have been an Information Systems Business Technologist for a long time and in the Information Technology business for over 40 years! I have visited a wide variety of companies over the years and continue to be astounded at the waste and inefficiencies. The Challenge: Let me review your company and if I don't come up with at least $100,000 in increased profit or savings, pay only my expenses! Otherwise, pay my fee or a percentage of the first five years increased profit or savings!

There are a ton of voice activation/response systems out there for a lot of different Smart Devices (cell phones). Most of them are 'neat shit' applications that really are more toys than applications. I do NOT want to talk to my cell phone, I want it to DO things I demand without using my hands: True Voice Command & Control!

For over 13 years that I have been involved with the implementation of the JD Edwards (JDE) systems, there has been confusion and misunderstanding of how JD Edwards handles electronic transaction processing and Electronic Date Interchange (EDI).

There just are no Global data storage standards or specifications. Every bureaucratic and political organization has different rules and regulations. Every industry, university and institution has different methods, procedures, software and encoding techniques, modalities and capabilities. Every organization used different equipment and digital media; none of which comply with any basic ANSI-Like standards.

The process of successfully managing a finished goods manufacturing, sales and distribution supply chain are many and varied. Typically, the ‘sell side’ is first addressed by implementing general accounting systems, manufacturing process & control systems, and the marketing or ‘sell side’ of the business. The sell side will focus on meeting customer demands by efficiently managing finished goods inventories, timely processing of customer orders, delivery of the product to the customer as requested and subsequent invoicing and payment processing.

Japanese are good at manufacturing. Just ask any global producers of automobiles, copiers, or personal electronics what happened in the 1980s. They will probably tell you how the Japanese captured a large share of the global-market by creating world-class standards in design, materials, and management. What is often overlooked is the attempt to understand how the Japanese industry succeeds at the services that support the manufacturing process (Krajewski et al, 1987: 40). Within the production field, the Kanban process is the most significant of these services.

A successful Warehouse Management System implementation require individuals who fully understand the operational aspects of a warehouse operation. The term ‘warehouse’ can mean just storage, staging area, or an active picking floor (for direct order processing). Warehouses are full of ‘stuff’ that has to be recorded, shelved (or palletized, containerized, etc.) or stored for some period of time. The key is in retrieval; finding the stuff after you ‘put it away’. This is often called a ‘pick’ process; where a system will produce a report, PDA screen (or other handheld device), or even shelve displays to direct a person (maybe a robotic process) to go find some ‘stuff’ and bring it (‘pick’) to a location; usually for packaging and subsequent transportation (shipping, FedEx, USPS, truck, etc.).

ERP systems are designed to be a ‘total solution’ to enterprise resource planning across multiple business units with each component having an impact on every other component. The components are typically grouped into ‘subsets’ that direct their functionality at different business operations:

Integrating EDI into the healthcare business process requires this in-depth understanding of the business rules. It is much, much more than a simple creation of an EDI 'map' (the component that translates transaction documents electronically into a standardized format for electronic exchange). Since many of the normal controls will now be encompassed by an electronic process, well documented and understood automated controls have to be implemented to compensate for the manual controls previously rendered during the manual or semi-automated transaction processing operation. These controls need to be designed by a professional who understands the business process flow (insurance processing, patient records management, institutional care, drug manufacturing and distribution, and accounting) as well as the technical requirements of the EDI process.

I have been specializing in global commercial enterprise wide EDI application interfaces for the past several years. I have worked with some of the major companies in the commercial EDI arena and developed transactional interfaces with current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) tools. In order to successfully implement an EDI transaction based enterprise solution, a complete understanding on the business functions of the companies involved is necessary. An understanding of the Electronic Business Flow Management (EBFM) concepts and dynamics is required to understand and document the transaction dynamics involved in an electronic trading partner relationship.

Computing and information processing should be getting easier to deal with, not more complex. The idea that someone has to be a network engineer to connect more than two computers in their own home is just one example!

Almost everyone recognizes the term ‘Geek’ as one who is perceived to be overly obsessed with one or more things technical. This no longer refers to the ‘bespeckled scientist’ in a white lab coat with a pocket protector’! It now refers to just about anyone who loves and uses electronic gadgets and is consumed by new technology; computers, cell phones, PDA’s, home electronics, home automation etc.

The economy is down, real estate is in the dumpster, companies don't want experienced professionals, they just want cheap labor. Most don't care for quality of work, security or National Pride. Just cheap and quick; no matter what the long term consequences may be.

Failure to be able to succinctly define work objectives in a scope and objectives document, whether for a job order or for a work assignment is a major problem with many companies. Poor understanding of the expectations of the work to be performed, usually results in delivery of something other than what may have been expected. This miss-communication is the basic cause of project failures; no matter what the industry, discipline or environment.

In a previous article I critiqued the questions many Recruiters and Hiring Managers ask potential/future employees (and contractor/Free-Agents). Here I will attempt to structure a response set of questions that the recruit or employee should ask (and be asking) the manager (future or current). I suggested the following questions should be asked by the manager of a recruit:

As seasoned computer professionals with 10's of years of experience sit on the sidelines, few companies will entertain the idea of working with or retaining them. They avoid Free Agents because these professionals have learned to think for themselves and know how businesses should operate. After years of learning from experience and professional training, Information Technology professionals sit at their workstations trying to find employment that will pay existing bills.

You hear and read about breaches in security and distribution of 'secure documents' retrieved through broken security systems. There is identity theft run rampant. Financial institutions loose data files, are compromised and otherwise accessed by unauthorized individuals or systems.

There is a major issue with data security in the USA and around the Globe. Almost nothing is truly secure. Systems security is full of holes. Software is riddled with errors and is untested and prone to failure. Individual identities are stolen and comprised on a regular basis; it is a growth industry! The business and personal losses continue to mount. Government institutional breaches and losses are unreported but must be equally mountainous.

Many corporate managers compare a 'W2’ individual’s salary to a Professional Consultant's hourly rate. Many of these managers fail to recognize the normal 'cost of doing business' that companies must bear for ‘W2’ employee expenses:

Experience Counts!

“You can't keep one disease and heal two others - when the body heals it heals everything.”